The present invention relates to a security tag for being mounted to a container seal, and to a container seal including a security tag. In particular, the present invention relates to a container seal including a security tag (sensor seal) which may be employed basically in all resealable containers having a screw lid for vacuum-packed products, such as, for example, food, in order to indicate reliably whether the container is still originally sealed, whether the packaging is damaged or has already been opened, or whether the seal itself is damaged or untight.
With vacuum-packed food and other products which may be arranged in receptacles or containers including resealable screw lids, it is frequently difficult to judge whether these containers are still originally sealed, whether the packaging is damaged or has already been opened, or whether the seal is damaged or untight. This is particularly critical with regard to food, in particular with baby food, since in this case, after opening the seal lid, the contents or good may decay relatively quickly through contamination with microbial germs. Consuming food gone bad may cause heavy health consequences, in particular for children and elderly people.
“Paper seals” glued to the container over the edge of the container seal are frequently to be found with screw lids for containers. Only after opening the lid will the paper tear and thus indicate that the product has already been opened. However, these paper seals may easily be damaged or torn from outside, thereby pretending that the container has already been opened. Damaging the original seal thus results in an enormous insecurity on the part of consumers, who will not purchase such products and consequently lose confidence in the quality of the products and the manufacturer. Additionally, these containers have to be removed from the shelf and disposed of.
Apart from these sealing systems, there are seals for containers which indicate, using a mechanical process, whether the respective container has already been opened, as is exemplarily shown in the patent publication DE 10 2005 013 435 A1. These seals for containers include an interior part and an exterior part which, after opening the container for the first time, are fixed in a defined angular position to each other, wherein the angular position of the interior part relative to the exterior part may be recognized visually and/or in a tactile manner at the front in the sight opening. However, the setup of these seal lids is relatively complex, rather unclear and relatively complicated and, thus, expensive in manufacturing.
Additionally, there is vacuum-packed food in glasses, such as, for example, baby food, fruit juice, bottled vegetables or fruit and sauces, provided with a seal lid which produces a sound when opening the container, such as, for example, the glass or packaging. However, the sound cannot always be perceived clearly (in particular when opening the seal lid slowly). Recognizing whether the seal lid is still originally sealed is particularly difficult when the consumer is, for example, in a noisy environment, such as, for example, with urban traffic, at a station, in a factory, in kindergarten, etc. Additionally, the sound when opening the container is of no use at all for, for example, persons hard of hearing or deaf persons. These persons will consequently not be able to evaluate whether the product is in a correct state or whether the packaging has been damaged or already been opened, and thus the quality of the food is diminished or whether decay has already started as a consequence of potential microbial contamination.
This increases insecurity on the part of consumers, which is of particularly high importance with baby food and frequently results in unnecessary disposal of food and products which actually are still in a correct state.
Departing from this known technology, it is the object of the present invention to provide a security tag for a container seal by means of which both reliable and also easy visual and/or tactile checking is possible so as to recognize whether a container is still originally sealed or not.